


You Get What You Give

by altered_eagle, phoenixjustice



Series: Sad Pancake Man Hours [2]
Category: Professional Wrestling, 新日本プロレス | New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Genre: How DID Naito come across Jay at the conbini? This is how, Jay White's Showboating Often Covers Up Deep Self Doubts, Jay wasn't the only one having revelations during the night, Kayfabe Compliant, M/M, Naito POV, Naito was trying to rest wtf Yujiro, No Limit team mention, No pancakes (or conbini cashier's) were hurt in the making of this fic, Yujiro POV too (only for a bit!), Yujiro is...a surprisingly good friend, faint Yujiro/Pieter mentions, gratuitous cursing in Spanish (look Naito was NOT prepared okay?), mention of Bullet Club members, of course Naito is all about it then, oh wait shit it's about Jay?, post Wrestle Kingdom 15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:34:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29259048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altered_eagle/pseuds/altered_eagle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixjustice/pseuds/phoenixjustice
Summary: When had he ever moved so fast before, when not in the ring? He can't recall such a time.
Relationships: Naito Tetsuya/Jay White
Series: Sad Pancake Man Hours [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096271
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	You Get What You Give

You Get What You Give

By: PhoenixJustice

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It's funny how quiet the place sounded right after Jay leaves, though he had probably spoken less than a handful of words the whole night. But the air feels palpably heavy. He glances over at the table in the corner, where Chase and Fale were having quiet words about something. He understood English fine but Chase's accent made it hard to understand him sometimes and he didn't feel like asking Fale for any translations (though Fale was fluent in Japanese.)

He inwardly sighs, setting his empty shot glass down. How did everything get so pear shaped? Sure, Tama and Tanga were now the heavyweight tag champions, but everyone else who had matches, including Jay, had lost at Wrestle Kingdom and Jay had said those words and had looked so _sad._

It felt like a million years ago with a Bullet Club where people laughed and genuinely enjoyed each other's company and had fun together when they teamed together or worked to help the other. Sure they'd help each other in matches _now_ but it didn't feel the same; the spark was barely there anymore.

And yeah they might not be one of the _kindest_ stables, but that didn't matter, because to join Bullet Club meant to find a brotherhood, find people who looked out for you like you looked out for _them._

At least that's how it used to be.

He can remember Prince Devitt's surprisingly curse laded voice, his laughter filled mouth telling Yujiro not to let it be known that _he_ was the one who taught him all the curse words in English that he now knew. Gallows and Anderson's ribbing, AJ's surprising dedication, helping Matt and Nick loosen up at a bar, doing karaoke with Kenny…

Where had all the _fun_ gone?

Now what were they all? People he had known for years and had _teamed_ with for years and thought of like family, feeling like he had finally found a place to belong.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Jay was genuinely one of the best wrestlers he had come across. And to be so good at such a young age wasn't usual.

But perhaps he wasn't meant to be a Leader.

At least of Bullet Club. The Bullet Club of _now._ Everyone was so utterly cutthroat… they all had been before, him included, but well…

He sighs, finishing his shot and setting the glass down. So maudlin… why was he doing so much reminiscing and reflecting? Things were so stressful. He thinks about Pieter and how she'd comfort him with soft words and even softer hands but she was currently across the country and he was in no shape to try and try and see her (and she didn't deserve to be inflicted with all of the goings on right now anyhow.)

He sighs, tilting his head up, looking up at the ceiling as if it could provide any answers.

He wasn't quite as drunk as Jay must already be; he hadn't _quite_ matched Jay shot for shot but it was close enough that he could feel a buzz that would be pleasantly going through him right now, if not for everything that was going on.

He frowns. Jay being by himself probably wasn't a good thing. The younger wrestler could be quite mercurial in his moods and he knew from personal experience how stewing in your dark thoughts could never be a good thing.

He pulls out his cell phone, blinking a few times to get his eyes back in better focus and starts to dial a number out, before hesitating.

Should he call Gedo? That would seem like the most obvious answer, except...where had Gedo been backstage after Jay's match? He hadn't been there to support Jay like he normally would have.

Sure, the rest of the Bullet Club had also stayed back (Yujiro included, but he hadn't because he had been essentially placated into staying back, telling him Jay would be fine) but when had Gedo listened to any of them before, when it came to Jay? Usually he was the most vocal supporter of Jay and hyped him up to anyone who would listen (and many of those who didn't _want_ to listen.)

But...nothing. No Gedo.

So...who did he call then?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

He isn't sure how long he stares down at his phone without dialing anything or doing anything else, but it's probably fairly long if the bartender's side glances at him are any indication.

Jay was a good kid, despite all his blustering. He deserved to have some peace of mind. But Yujiro was in no position to help him personally right now (last thing he needed was someone who might end up also crying on _his_ shoulder when _he_ was the one who needed help.)

What Jay needed was someone who could listen to him and who wouldn't have any ulterior motives, like trying to use it to move up further in the world. Someone who wasn't swayed by material shit.

He rubs at his eyes with his free hand before sighing and starting to call someone whose number he shouldn't even still have.

"Oi, Tetsuya? It's me."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

When had he ever moved so fast before, when not in the ring? He can't recall such a time.

"Ahh, _mierda mierda."_ He says, buttoning up his jeans that he had started to throw on before thinking, in the middle of his talk with Yujiro.

 _Yujiro._ How in the hell did he even still have his number? _No Limit_ felt like a million lifetimes ago with someone that Tetsuya barely recognized as himself in it.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

" _Look look, I know you don't want to talk to me." Yujiro says, his tone of voice was raspy enough to tell him that he had been drinking; he had gone bar hopping with him often enough in the past to still remember that._

" _You still decided to call anyway?" He responds in a bored tone, idly cleaning out his ear with his pinky, even though Yujiro wasn't there to see the passive aggressive gesture._

_Yujiro sighs. He can all but picture him running a hand through his hair in frustration, which makes him smirk. And it quickly becomes silent long enough that he grows bored._

" _I'm hanging up now." He tells him._

" _Wait, wait!" Yujiro says quickly. He sighs again but continues. "It's about Jay."_

_It takes him a second to realize what Yujiro said, before his eyes widen and he's speaking before even realizing it._

" _What happened to him?" He asks immediately. "What did…"_

_His mind immediately goes to the expression in Jay White's face, his eyes, in that promo after his Wrestle Kingdom match even before his thoughts go to the younger wrestler's words._

' _Even if they had the chance...they wouldn't have helped' Jay had said, his tone so..._ _ **defeated.** _

" _What did you do?"_

" _Ahh nothing nothing!" Yujiro is quick to say. "No need to be so mad, Tetsuya. It isn't what you think."_

_Mad?_ **_Had_ ** _he just sounded mad then? Mad about Jay White?_

" _Then what is it?" He asks, having to put more work than he usually does to make his voice sound unaffected again._

_It's quiet again and then._

" _Look, all of this...all of it." Yujiro says eventually. "You know?"_

" _I-"_

" _None of them were out there." Yujiro continues. "None of them."_

_In Jay's match? He saw that very well for himself. Well there had been Gedo but that was to be expected? But as for the rest._

" _Me either. I wanted to be." Yujiro's voice lowers next, as if confessing a deep secret. "But they said I shouldn't. I don't think they_ ** _wanted_** _him to have any help."_

_Now it's his turn to be quiet, taking all the information in._

" _Tetsuya?"_

_He looks down and has to unclench his free hand from the death grip he had had on his leg, nails digging into the skin-and hadn't even noticed until he looked down._

**_They left him out there. All alone._ **

_Rage bubbles up inside of him, an emotion he hadn't felt in an age._

_His eyes widen and he shakes himself a bit, shaken with_ **_himself._ **

" _Where is he?"_

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" _I don't know where he went."_ Tetsuya says, mocking Yujiro's voice, jumping around a bit as he tries to get his shoe on. " _Maybe he went to his hotel room?_ As if I couldn't figure _that_ part out, _cabron."_

He continues to mutter to himself as he finishes getting his shoes on, which only become more pronounced as he _can't find his fucking keys._ Of all times… no, no, _tranquilo._ He had to calm down (which was usually not so hard a thing to do, but it was a bit hard to think of anything but finding the nearest Bullet Club member and _squeezing their necks-_ -)

But it's hard to think completely coherently, which is also an unusual occurrence for him. He scatters the contents of a bowl he has set on his living room table, checks the kitchen before patting down the pants he was wearing and finding them there.

He sighs.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Okay so...tracking Jay White, who sounded pretty drunk if Yujiro had been truthful about how much he had been drinking (and he was usually good at reading people, especially those like Yujiro whom he had known for awhile, so he thought he was) then most likely he hadn't gotten too far.

There were only a few places of note between the bar and Jay's hotel room (which would be his main destination, but he still wanted to look carefully along the way. He had dealt with enough drunk _familia_ in his time to have an idea of how they acted. He himself wasn't a teetotaler or anything, but he was a casual drinker and didn't get wasted easily) so he tries to trace down the way and hope that the other wrestler hadn't gotten it in his mind to take any weird detours.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The drive up to the bar had been uneventful, if surprisingly stressful. He doesn't get out of the car but-after Yujiro, who was standing outside it, waves at him-he nods at Yujiro and starts to slowly go down the way.

At this time of night, there were very few people out and about, on foot or in some kind of transportation and the few people he spots are all obviously residents and not a tall, pretty, _gaijin_ with a tendency to talk big and who wore his heart so blindingly on his sleeve sometimes that it burned Tetsuya's eyes to even _look_ at him.

The car is nearly to a crawl in how slow he is going, eyes peeled for any possible sighting or sound of him (if he drank as much as Yujiro said then it was very possible he could be puking his guts out somewhere.) but he doesn't see anything.

_Where did you go, Jay?_

Maybe he went to try and sleep it off. Always possible. Although…

Drunk people also had a tendency to want to eat a lot.

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"Look! I lost my main event. Lost any title chances. Lost at the _Tokyo Dome._ Do you get it?!"

The first sight of Jay-

"I didn't even get to face Tetsuya Naito. You know who he is right? Everyone in bloody fucking Japan knows who he is!"

-is breathtaking.

Even from a bit of a distance between them, he can see the desperation on Jay's face, even as he grabs onto the poor cashier's shirt, even as Jay's words strike a chord deep within Tetsuya.

_He really had wanted to face him._

"So I just...if I could just have one thing like some fucking _pancakes_ then _maybe_ I'll feel a bit better about my fucking self!"

"Jay." He says, taking a step forward now.

_You look so tired of the world._

"Not asking for a lot. Just want-"

" _Jay!"_

That feeling in Tetsuya's chest just tightens, twists in a little deeper, when Jay turns, when he sees the look on Jay's face as he looks at Tetsuya…

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"Oh." Jay says, letting go of the cashier's shirt. "Sorry. I must really be on the sauce. Jus' thought I saw Naito. I mentioned him right? You know him? Great wrestler?"

"Good to know what you think of me, amigo. But you should leave him alone." Tetsuya says, coming over closer. Great wrestler? Too bad you're only a flatterer when you've been drinking…

He sets some money down for the cashier's trouble, adjusting his hat before eyeing Jay and grabbing him by the belt.

"I…wha?! Wait." Jay protests, looking back at the cashier. "M' hungry."

"Leave the nice man to his work."

"But pancakes!" Jay moans pitifully. "I just want some pancakes, Tetsuya."

_Tetsuya._

He stops. His own name shouldn't be such a surprise, but to hear it spoken from Jay White's lips…

"I'll get you whatever you need, okay?" He says, a bit hoarsely.

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He had expected to hear a drunken Jay go off about a lot of things (drunk people tended to be more honest, because their inhibitions were lowered) but-

"Well I mean _you're_ here, so I'd have to have hit it, right? I'm dreaming?"

He pauses in the middle of lacing up Jay's boot (how had he ended up with only one on? _Dulce borracho Jamie),_ utterly thrown by his words.

"You dream of me?" He must have been hearing things. But Jay was the one who had been drinking, not him…

"Oh well... _yeah."_ Jay tells him, as if it was an _obvious_ thing, as if it were something he did all the time.

More revelations to make his head spin.

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And now here he was, a sleepy, still drunken, Jay White laying his head against Tetsuya's legs as if the very _closeness_ of him wasn't enough to burn through.

 _"I'll take care of you, Jay."_ " _Lo prometo."_

A _promise._ One that felt like it had _weight_ to it. More than a simple looking after him for the next few minutes or few hours.

He strokes Jay's hair, his breath catching when Jay moves closer to his hand, to him.

"And I don't break promises to the people that I...care about."

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Notes:

 **cabron -** dumbass

 **mierda -** shit

 **Lo Prometo -** I promise

 **Tranquilo -** Quiet


End file.
